“What it feels like to be an intern at 27 years old”

When you’re an intern, it really feels like you’re never actually going to get a real job. I was an unpaid intern for the better part of a year and almost gave up on writing. The trick is to persevere. I imagine the only thing scarier then not knowing if you’re ever going to get a paid job is changing careers after a paid job and having to start at the bottom…

This is the story of 27 year old intern, Natalie Morris.

We once told the tale of Ken Holmes the man who’s a 78 year old, grandfather-of-two, and, as far as we can tell, the world’s oldest intern. He’s currently helping administration at Mercy Placed Aged Care facility in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. This is a one in a million case.

Natalie’s situation, however, will become increasingly common as the years go on. We harp on this fact a lot but, on average, young people today will have between 15-20 jobs in their careers. With this in mind, it’s not hard to believe that you’ll have to work up numerous ladders.

Writing for Marie Claire, Morris describes her jump “from print journalism to broadcast journalism”. No longer was she managing people and exploring creative options, she had made the decision to lower herself down to a bottom rung. The important thing, she says, is that it was the right decision.

What’s most encouraging about her story is how happy Morris seems to be despite pressing restart on her life. So many young 20 year olds describe the quarter life crisis like their future is already set in stone. But it’s not!

Natalie says: “I’d probably prefer not to be a trainee at 27, but I don’t have a mortgage, or dependent children. I don’t even have a cat to look after. I can take a pay cut with the only real casualty being my weekend wine fund.”

“Jump while your baggage is relatively light; jump while you have the energy; jump knowing that it’s OK if you don’t quite make it. You’ll probably still land on your feet.”